Let me preface this by saying that nothing beats the original when it comes to aebleskiver. But I’m no purist. This savory version gives you the excuse to eat the little pancake balls of happiness in the evening, and I never turn down the chance at breakfast for dinner.

These aebleskiver stuffed with cheese and tomatoes with fried thyme are a little heartier than the breakfast version thanks to the addition of graham flour. The result is a nutty pancake blanket wrapped around a gooey center with just a little bit of sugary citrus from the tomato that brightens everything up. The fried thyme adds some minty crunch.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1.5 cups flour
• .5 cups graham flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TB sugar
• 2 TB butter, plus more for cooking
• 2 TB chopped thyme
• 1 chopped tomato
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Muenster or mozzarella cheese cut into small squares
• Thyme sprigs cut into 1-inch sections

Special equipment: aebleskiver pan, chopsticks or knitting needles.

Steps:

Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl or blender and combine.

Add the buttermilk and eggs.

In a pan, melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add the chopped tomato and chopped thyme. Cook everything until reduced and soft, about 5 minutes.

Remove the mixture and add another tablespoon of butter. Fry the thyme sprigs until crisp.

Put a small dollop of butter in each cup of your aebleskiver pan. Add a tablespoon or so of the dough mixture to the pan so the dough sits about a half-inch below the rim. Add a teaspoon of the tomato mixture and a square of cheese to the center of each section. Cook until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Add a bit more dough to the top of each aebleskiver so that the filling is completely covered and the dough sits just above the rim of the pan. Take your chopsticks or knitting needles and flip the round over so that the other side gets cooked. This takes some practice. My bedstemor would toss those suckers around like they were nothing, but I am a flipping challenged. The trick is to get the stick down to the base on one side and use the other stick to guide it over from the other side.

Top with a few sprigs of thyme and a dollop of butter and dig in. If you are feeling really decadent, you can dip these in your favorite pasta sauce.